First Horizon Corp Purchases New Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,038,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.9% during the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in AutoZone by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,377,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 14 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Director Michael A. George acquired 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3,398.13 per share, with a total value of $492,728.85. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,341.58. This trade represents a 34.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total value of $823,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,102,665. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and sold 3,180 shares worth $12,465,312. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays set a $3,880.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,700.00 to $4,500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,310.12.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,523.14 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,162.00 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $58.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,616.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,857.74.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.